“Someone you should fear. He'll show you the true meaning of misery. He'll take everything you love, and just when you think you've fallen as far as you can, you'll realize you're wrong. You'll see just how far you can fall, Harry Potter, and it's a long way to the bottom.”

He had to know. And he was a Seer, wasn't he? With enough concentration, couldn't he will himself some sort of prophecy? He knew the answer to that was no, but he had long ago been deemed the greatest Seer in the world. His strength was beyond comprehension; therefore, James believed anything was possible.

“I demanded to know Al’s fate. Whatever part of me that predicts the future, I demanded it to tell me if he would live or die. It took a lot of effort, but it worked. I made a prophecy about his death. What if I could do the same again? What if I could demand to know where she is?”

Clancy had already picked up on his tone, though. “Albus wasn’t what, Parker?” she asked, her breath escaping her as she emphasized her desperation for him to finish that sentence. “Tell me! He wasn’t what?!”

“So you’re telling me that…that locket right there is prepared to receive a horcrux, and I…”

“You’ve murdered three people. The Auror. Albus Potter. And the Minister for Magic. Your soul has already been split three times. I’m telling you that all I have to do now is say the incantation and you can live forever…”

“I thought I was dead. When I realized I wasn’t, I couldn’t fathom how I could have possibly survived everything that day—the Killing Curse that sent me over the ledge, the fall, the impact of the water, or the freezing cold of it. But this…This would answer everything. This would explain why I survived that day. I couldn’t die.”

Then Harry and James looked across the field of debris to Parker and Pansy. And in that moment, there they were—a mother and her son fighting for what they believed in, and a father his son doing the same. They were all vulnerable in their own way; they were all fueled by their own desires. They were all the same in that moment and yet so different.

“He cannot be saved. The one you hold on to so dearly faces an inevitable fate. He has reached his end and has naught but two days to live. Fear not, though. He shall return to you when you reach your darkest hour.”

“Everyone has always said nothing is more powerful than a mother’s love; that’s how Dad survived—because of his mother’s sacrifice for him. But Jamie, you did the same thing for me. And maybe that’s what this is really about—our bond, our love for each other. You’re my brother, and maybe that magic is just as powerful.”

Even though she was unsure if he was ready to talk about it yet, she broached the topic they had both clearly been trying to avoid: who he was and who he would be without Parker. “And how are you…How are you feeling?”

He was quiet for several moments, contemplative.

“Pure…” he answered. “I feel pure. Finally. Like I can be me again. Whoever that may be. I’m not sure. But I’m ready to find out.”